Friday, April 6, 2012

Sorry, No Take backs

This was sent to a writer who had already withdrawn the submission due to acceptance for publication elsewhere:

Dear Writer: We appreciate your willingness to entrust us with your writing. Unfortunately, we have decided that your submission does not meet our needs at this time. We do encourage you to continue submitting your work to us. Please check our website for upcoming announcements and submission guidelines. Best of luck to you in your writing life. Sincerely, The New Madrid Editors

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Somebody needs to start an official list of which magazines reply send rejections in reply to withdrawal notices. These editors are seriously lacking in class and tact.

When I was an assistant editor we ALWAYS congratulated the author who sent a withdrawal notice, even if the story was rejection fodder. We NEVER told the author that we would have rejected the story anyway.

Take withdrawn submissions out of your queue so you don't reject them later. How hard is that? When you're evaluating a story, make sure that the latest communique from the author isn't a notice of withdrawal. That will save you the time of reading submissions that are unavailable.

Why are so many amateurs playing magazine editor? If you can't do it right, get the fuck out of this biz. It's bad enough we have so many amateur writers filling up slush piles with garbage. And I see that New Madrid is yet another non-paying publication. Holy eye-roll.

Rules of the Game

4) Be nice to one another. The world is already overpopulated with asses.

Guess What?

After 15 years of rejections (most of them posted here along with all the rejections you've sent me over the years), my novel is getting published by a literary press. Little third-gendered me will soon have a book you can read for yourself and see if the hundreds of rejections were misguided or not. For more on the matter, read this post and this one too.

People Magazine Picks Miracle Girls

What the What? (This is actually for real.)

ew.com blog review

"Failure is the New Funny. Whether you're a writer ... or a bookworm ... Literary Rejections on Display is worth checking out."

Huff Po Compliment

"A highly entertaining blog."

The Millions Assesses

"An answer to what to do with your rejections: throw them away, but first, complain about them on the internet!"

Gawker Gawks LROD

"A reminder of the competitive pressures that help drive some authors to start plagiarizing and making things up."

GALLEYCAT Chimes In

"Excellent blog."

The Boston Phoenix Rises

"Might we suggest whiling away the hours with Literary Rejections On Display? We've been hooked for the last couple of weeks..."

Psych Today Puts LROD On The Couch

"An author who, like the rest of us, experiences many more rejections than acceptances."

Blogher Offers a Female Nod

"And since something isn't really something until there's a blog about it, I give you Literary Rejections on Display."

Poets & Writers Questions LROD

"Isn't it part of the writer's job to learn from--rather than reject--rejection?"

HTML GIANT Confesses

"I am sort of addicted to this site. I go through phases: I check it regularly, then I stop myself and ignore it for several months. Then I remember it again and sift through its wreckage."

The Village Voice Bitches About LROD

"Deliberately composed of unpublished individuals who wear their rejection slips as badges of integrity."

Cape Cod Times Gets the Joke

"Caschetta’s wit sparkles in “Literary Rejections on Display,” a humorous and intelligent look at the literary world"